Dangers of Doping

Another week, another story about the use of performance enhancing substances ranging from steroids to supplements and everything in between. The statistics are frightening. Here’s just a sample:

* In a survey conducted at 18 of South Africa’s top schools, 21 out of 130 pupils (approximately 1 in 6) tested positive for a variety of illegal steroids. (Sunday Times, 29th May 2011)

* 8,4% of grade12s among the 7500 pupils surveyed had taken steroids sometime during their school careers. The average for grades 6 – 12 was 4.7%, with steroid usage increasing with age. (Discovery Sharksmart Pupil Wellbeing Survey 2010)

In the study, “Attitudes and perceptions towards performance enhancing
substance use in Johannesburg boys high
school sport” by Philippe Gradidge, Yoga Coopoo and Demitri Constantinou of the Centre for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, published in the South African Journal of Sport Medicine (Vol 22, No 2. 2010) the following results were found amongst others:

It is a complex matter, but hope this will give you a better understanding of what some of these substances are all about and their possible effects on your children so that it will enable you to speak knowledgeable, frankly and openly to your children about the subject. Quick fixes are not the answer to enduring success. Promote hard work, resilience, sportsmanship and fair competition to avoid your child’s life and reputation being put at risk.

About Mary Ann Dove - Performance Coach

Mary Ann is a mother of 2 teenage children, has an honours degree in Sports Science from the University of Cape Town and is currently studying towards her MSc. In addition, she has coaching and psychology qualifications. She has been involved in sport all her life as a participant, scientist, consultant and manager of youth and senior teams. She has worked with developmental to Olympic level athletes across a wide spectrum of sports. She is currently the performance coach to the Cape Cobras Cricket team and career and education consultant to the SA Cricketers Association. In addition to her sports career, Mary Ann has 20 years’ experience in the corporate world specialising in developing individuals and teams to achieve sustainable performance goals.

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